Your Poison Was The Cure
by Lee Aiden
Summary: Lee Aiden may be TNA's newest Knockout, but she's a passionate lover and an aggresive fighter. While dealing with rivalries with Madison Rayne, Winter, and Immortal, she catches the interest of Sting, her idol since day one. But what does it mean for her?
1. Time: The Beginning

"I said quiet!" The crowd booed even louder in response to the high-pitched voice of Madison Rayne, the self-proclaimed "Queen of TNA", as she was, yet again, giving another speech about how fabulous she is. And oh lord, could I hear them shouting their disagreement to her. It made a smirk come across my face. To know that everyone out there... well, besides Tara and herself, anyway... hated that woman with a passion. Including I decided it would only be fitting to set her straight.

Cracking my knuckles, I confidently walked backstage and signaled to the stagehand, waiting for my music. This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p><em>This thing called life goes by so quickly, <em>

_One day you're here and then you're gone._

_This is a moment I've lived my whole life for,_

_And I'll never give up, I've waited too long..._

Madison's eyes widened at the heavy guitar riffs that sounded throughout the arena, making the crowd erupt into cheers. Only one knockout had Megadeth for her entrance music. She turned to the Titantron to see the brunette, blue-eyed form of Lee Aiden walking down the ramp, an air of confidence surrounding her as always. Madison scowled. Lee wasn't the average knockout. She was powerful. And determined. And don't forget aggressive. She didn't take shit from anyone. Especially her.

"Oh, Madison," Lee nearly cooed in a sing-song voice meant to taunt the Knockout's Champion, "Y'know, you come out here every single night and brag about how amazing you are." she stepped down the ramp a little more. "And frankly, I've had enough."

Her left index finger pointed at the female in the ring. "While you may take out every single local person that gets a chance to prove themselves, whenever a real knockout shows up, you turn on your heel and run away." Lee stuck her free hand in the pocket of her baggy, bloody pants, shaking her head and clicking her tongue in disappointment. "You don't have the true actions to back up your words."

In response, Madison climbed out of the ring, glaring at the white-clad knockout that had interrupted her. "And you think you could do much better?" she retorted, her hand waving in the air in an odd gesture Lee couldn't place.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, fighting a laugh. Instead, she chuckled softly. "Actually, yes. I think I can." she sauntered forward, reaching out to poke Madison in the chest. "And if you're not afraid of me, I'm willing to prove it tonight."

The other brunette eventually smirked and nodded. "You're on."

Lee's features lit up almost menacingly. "Good. But here's the deal-" she moved to the side, climbing up onto the top rope and sitting on the turnbuckle. As if in thought, she pressed a finger to her mouth and averted her eyes to the ceiling before turning to face Madison once more. "This time, we do things my way. Which means your little girlfriend over there is forbidden from ring-side." she pointed to Tara as she said this, causing the crowd to go continued on. "And if she does show up, by some chance, it means instant disqualification. Got it?"

Their mouths hung open, nearly dropping to the floor. Laughing, the brunette jumped off the turnbuckle and brushed past her, walking up the ramp. "See you in the ring, doll."

* * *

><p>"Gahh... who does she think she is, anyway?" I scowled, brushing a strand of hair out of my face and taking a sip of water. It was about time someone set Madison straight. For now, I guess it had to be me. "If she's smart, she'll play by the rules this time," I muttered under my breath. "Cause otherwise, we'll see her true colors unfold." I paused, stopping in my tracks. "Then again… that would be enjoyable as well."<p>

A knock on my locker room door startled me, though only briefly. "Come in." Soon, I was tackled to the ground by two bodies, both with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. And of course, they were knockouts as well.

"Dude, you are gonna own Madison tonight!"

"You're going to kick her ass from here to next Thursday, girl!"

"If Tara comes out, can I punch her?"

I pushed the two girls off of me, soon meeting the faces of my two best friends- Olivia and Shayne. They laughed at the antics I'd performed before standing up after me.

"Still though," Olivia questioned, "despite the match having to go by your rules, how can you be so sure everything's going to go the way you planned it?"

Shayne crossed her arms, pacing the arena back and forth. "Knowing Madison, she's definitely going to pull some strings. She always does."

"Relax, you two." I coaxed, sitting down on the couch on the left side of the room, pressing my fingers to my temple to ease the headache that had been growing. "I can handle this the way I always have. But if, by chance, Tara does come out, I'm counting on you two as my best friends to teach her a lesson."

Their nods allowed me to smile. Just the thought of tonight's main event made me feel all giddy inside. Madison Rayne would get what was coming to her. And it was going to be oh, so sweet.

* * *

><p>Taking a breath, Lee slowly made her way down the hall to watch the next few matches. She was much too excited to stay cramped in her locker room, despite having Olivia and Shayne to talk to. There were some things she didn't want to miss.<p>

After devouring an apple she had grabbed from the catering table, she tossed the core in the trash and took a drink of the Dr. Pepper in her pocket. She also said a few hello's to Angelina Love and Velvet Sky along the way and joined them in their walk, as they were headed to the same destination.

"There's not a doubt in my mind you'll beat Madison tonight, Lee." Velvet told her, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

Lee gave Velvet her trademark smirk before winking playfully. "Believe you me, girls- Her reign will end tonight. I'll make sure of it."

Angelina smiled at the brown-haired knockout. "Just remember- we've got your back."

"Never let go of that thought for a second." she assured them. When they reached the backstage area, the girls went to grab some chairs, though Lee wasn't eyeing the equipment on the floor and tripped on a wire, nearly falling on her face until a strong pair of arms caught her by the waist and gently lifted her back up.

"Careful there, you almost hit your head." a smooth, deep voice made it way to the ears of the brunette as she took a sharp breath, brushing herself off as the hands let go of her. "Wouldn't want you getting hurt now."

Lee smiled to herself. "Heh… guess I was being a little clumsy there." she joked, then looked up, her blue eyes meeting with a pair of chocolate brown ones, accented by a face painted in white with long, intricate lines of black and red running down the sides. Lee recognized this face.

It belonged to the reason she'd started wrestling in the first place.

The man she'd idolized since day one.

The Icon, Sting.

Lee's mouth nearly hit the floor in shock and surprise, now feeling her cheeks turning warm. What in the world was Sting doing here, of all places to be in the building? Why had he noticed her to begin with? And why did he just he just save her from getting a possible concussion? She had no clue. All she could do was stare at him. Seconds seemed like minutes, even hours to her now- just simply staring into the depths of those eyes that seemed to capture her very soul and hypnotize her.

_Wait, what am I doing? _She scolded herself mentally. _You can't let him know he has this effect on you! Snap out of it! _Regaining composure, Lee managed to stand up straight again, straightening out her tank top and giving the man in front of her a faint smile of gratitude. "Thanks for that, by the way."

He gave her a nod of affirmation, then walked past her and the other girls to the men's locker rooms. Noticing the shade of pink still accented on the brunette's cheeks, Angelina gave her a smile. "What was that I just saw?" she nearly chuckled.

"Hmm?" Lee turned to face her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she sat down without any casualty this time.

The blonde pointed behind them with her thumb. "That was Sting, right?"

Lee nodded, taking another swig of her soda before responding. "Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?"

Angelina smiled. "Your cheeks are pink."

The fun laughter of the two blondes made Lee blush even harder. _Oh, shit._ She thought. _I did __not__ just blush around Sting. Dammit._

Velvet managed to catch her breath from laughter. "Oh come on, Angie. He just helped her from hitting her head, is all. It's not as if she has a crush on him, or something." she got up and walked to the water fountain to get a drink. "Give the girl a break."

Lee stuck her tongue out at the other female before smiling to herself, though it disappeared after a was right. She didn't like Sting like that...

...or did she?


	2. Angry Again

This was it. Despite the obvious tension I felt, I had to focus on the match against Madison tonight. I had a feeling that she would do pretty much anything and everything to get her way, but I wouldn't go down without a fight- literally. I vowed to take whatever she threw at me and send it back tenfold. There was no way in hell that I would lose to someone as sniveling, obnoxious, and arrogant-

The door to my locker room was nearly thrown of its hinges as Olivia and Shayne rushed through and hugged me. Might I mention tight enough to squeeze the air out of me, as well.

"You can do it." Shayne voiced to me, patting my shoulder after she let go. I flashed her my all-too familiar grin and both brunettes a thumbs-up.

"Count on a victory tonight, ladies. If anyone loses, it's going to be Madison Rayne." I told them before disappearing out of sight, striding to the entrance of the arena. And as much confidence as I had, my hands were balled into fists hard enough so my knuckles turned white. Would I be able to back up my words as well?

One could only hope. And that one was me.

* * *

><p>Megadeth's song "Bodies" blared throughout the speakers of the arena for the second time that night, the audience screaming and cheering in delight at the sight of Lee walking down the ramp, though the look on her face was more serious than it was before. She wasn't smiling, smirking, scowling, nothing. Her face was a simple neutral expression. But her eyes showed something else- they flashed with determination, something that gave everyone faith.<p>

"This match is set for one fall! Making her way to the ring, from Green Bay, Wisconsin… Lee Aiden!"

The brunette climbed under the ropes and made her way into the ring, pacing around it for a moment before jumping up on the middle rope and raising her hands in the air, causing the crowd to cheer even louder than ever. Once more, even though it was brief, the smirk returned to her face.

When Madison's entrance theme began to play, the entire mood of the arena changed. No longer did the crowd cheer, and the confident smile that once decorated Lee's face was washed away at the sight of the Knockout's Champion. She was strutting out with her hands on her hips, though like the female in the ring, was not wearing a smile, smirk, or anything of the sort. She was solely focused on the match tonight- nothing else. For once in her life, anyway. And she had strictly told Tara not to interfere.

Could it be that Madison would actually fight fairly in this match against Lee?

The bell rang, signaling the start, and immediately, the champion was met with a clothesline and a vicious elbow to the face, falling onto the mat as the other brunette stared down at her with a glare in her normally peaceful eyes. She then quickly grabbed her opponent by the hair and dragged her back to the center of the ring and practically pulled her back into a standing position. Not giving her time to react, she moved her hands from Madison's hair to latch behind her elbows and quickly flipped her over with a DDT.

"I told you we were going to do things my way, didn't I?" Lee whispered in Madison's ear before flipping her on her stomach and locking the brunette into Lee's signature submission, Graveyard's Grasp.

Madison's pained cries sounded from her throat as her opponent kept her arms locked in place around her legs, pulling forward and bending them down. But she wouldn't dare tap out. She wouldn't lose to her.

Eventually, when she felt Madison wouldn't tap, Lee stopped the submission before sending a mule kick to the female's face. She turned to see the brunette holding a shaky hand to her face, her fingers tenderly brushing against the red mark visible on the left side of her head. As a taunt, Lee brought a hand out to entice Madison back into the fight, waving a finger. That set her off- she charged back at her and gave her a nasty punch to her chest, sending Lee toppling to the mat. However, she quickly jumped up and climbed on the top turnbuckle, setting up for her signature high-flying move- Chaos Theory.

Madison's eyes widened. A Chaos Theory on any of Lee's opponents normally meant an instant pinfall. If this was successfully maneuvered, the brunette would win the match. Almost automatically, she started looking around and backing up to avoid contact of the finisher, but nothing worked. Ultimately, Lee's high-flying skills were too great to avoid as her opponent came crashing down on the floor after the Swanton Bomb-like move. Knowing the time had come, she planted Madison's shoulders on the mat and lifted a leg up for the count.

"1...2..."

The referee was interrupted by Tara rushing out from backstage and into the ring, throwing Lee off of the champion. As mad as Lee looked, the black-haired Knockout had made her presence known, which meant she won the match by DQ. Quickly, Tara ran toward her, but as Lee expected, two familiar brunettes emerged from behind the female and clotheslined her from a blind spot. The bell rang to signal the match's end, and the three friends slid out of the ring and made their way back up the ramp, but not before Lee felt a stabbing pain shoot through her head as Madison slammed her with a steel chair, knocking her, unconscious, to the arena floor.

* * *

><p>Slowly but surely, my eyes began to flutter open, my vision blurry at first, but clearing up eventually. When I regained consciousness, I was met with the faces of four people- two blondes, two brunettes, all four of them TNA Knockouts.<p>

Immediately, Shayne and Olivia went to work on squeezing the life out of me in a simultaneous bone-crushing hug. "Oh my god, you're okay! You're awake!" Olivia nearly squeaked, her voice borderline hysterical.

I tapped her back to usher her off. "Ugh… relax, guys. I just got smacked in the back of the head with a chair. I've had worse than that."

Angelina stared at me. "Lee, you've been out for two days! You call that nothing?"

"I never said that," I replied, my voice a whisper after wincing and holding my head slightly, finding it covered in a layer of bandages, "I'm saying worse things have happened to me. Near death experiences, too. This is nothing compared to what I've been through already."

Everyone in the room seemed to relax after that statement, my brunette best friends slumping back in their chairs while Angelina and Velvet walked away and wished for me to get well soon. Shayne's eyes stared at my body lying limp on a hospital bed. "You're honestly a walking miracle." she told me, her face appearing expressionless, but actually showing concern mixed with admiration. "I've never met anyone that can take a beating like you… not that it's a good thing, but-"

I nodded, raising my hand to signal I understood what she was trying to get at. "I get that a lot, Shayne. It's something I've grown used to." I looked over to the window on the right side of the room, watching the sun set through the glass.

I was soon brought out of my reverie by the creaking of the door and a nurse walking in. "Miss Aiden?" she spoke, causing my head to turn toward her. "You have some more visitors who'd like to see you."

I smiled to myself and nodded. I never thought this many people cared so much about my safety and well-being. "They can come in."

She nodded, opening the door wider to allow the others to enter the room. I was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar faces of six TNA Superstars, and personal friends of mine, smiling down at me.

"Hey, Lee!" James Storm and Robert Roode exclaimed, almost simultaneously, raising their arms into the air with wide smiles on their faces in an attempt to humor me. I chuckled in response as they each set a bottle of beer on the nightstand next to my bed, giving them a small wave.

AJ Styles and Kazarian were less noisy, each giving me a smile and a wink. I gave them their hello's when they placed a basket of fruit next to the beer bottles brought by the other members of Fortune. Immediately, I reached for a pear and took a bite, the juices trickling down my chin. They knew my weakness with sweet foods.

The voice of Kurt Angle made me look at him while he placed some balloons next to the table, along with a "Get Well Soon" card signed by the group. "How're you feeling?" he asked me.

I ran my fingers through my hair, massaging the area that was still throbbing, but only slightly now. "A lot better than I felt two days ago, that's for sure." I joked, laughing a bit. "But I hate being stuck in here." I proceeded to put and cross my arms across my chest.

The last of the group gave me a genuine smile, being the sweetheart that he was, walking over to stand next to me and ruffling my hair playfully, a hand behind his back. "Well knowing you, Lee, you'll be back to wrestling in no time." Rob Van Dam then made his other arm visible, presenting me with a soft, snow white teddy bear. I let my inner girl come out, squeaking in delight as I reached out to take it. He was the closest thing to a brother I'd ever had, so gifts from him always made me happy.

"Oh, you guys!" I gushed, squeezing the teddy bear. "You're too sweet, you really shouldn't have!"

Kazarian shrugged. "Well, we wanted to." he spoke, chuckling.

It took only a few seconds to pass before I let out a yawn. Everyone in the room laughed before agreeing to leave and let me sleep and recover for a while longer. I gently set my pear core in the trash bin and received my hugs from AJ, Kazarian, Kurt, James, and Robert before they exited. Olivia and Shayne gave me their farewells and hugs, then Rob also embraced me lightly before planting a kiss on my forehead. "Get well soon, Lee." he whispered, before shutting off the lights and walking out the door with by two best friends following close behind. Eventually, my eyelids closed and I fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Lee never thought she'd jolt awake from a simple bump in the middle of the night, but it seemed so close to where she was, it just surprised her. After another repetition of the noise, she sprang up from the hospital bed, her head frantically turning left and right to locate the source. Her eyes widened slightly as she spotted what seemed to look like a shadow moving quickly across the room, then the lamp on her desk turned on. She was about to let out a scream before a finger was pressed to her mouth, delicately brushing against her lips.<p>

"Shh, it's just me." a voice Lee didn't think she'd hear reached her ears as she looked up into familiar deep brown eyes. The light shone on the face the eyes belonged to, painted in white with lines of black and red.

She hesitated in speaking his name. "…Sting?" her lips moved against his finger, tickling slightly. He gave her a nod, then after some seconds, took his hand away and sat down in a nearby chair. "What the… why are you here?" she questioned, almost stammering over her words.

His arms rested on the arms of the chair, meeting her gaze. "I just decided to come and see how you were doing. You took a hard blow to the head on Thursday."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "So you come at night? When visiting hours ended several hours ago, nonetheless?" Another thing crossed her mind. "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

Sting simply looked over his shoulder and pointed to the open window, a light breeze waving against the curtains. The female nodded slowly in understanding. "I see…" The two sat in silence for a minute until Lee swung her legs over the side of the bed and placed her hands in her lap, twiddling her fingers. "Not that I'm trying to be rude, or anything, but I still don't understand why you came to check up on me. I mean, I'm just another Knockout. It's not like I'm special, or anything."

To that, Sting had no answer. Just a blank stare at his feet. Sensing the uncomfortable feeling, the brunette decided not to ask anything further. But it didn't take long for his voice to break the silence.

"Y'know, you did well in the match against Madison that day."

Lee cast a glance at him, seeing his face sincere. For a period of time, their eyes met, his brown ones glinting in the dark, her blue hues shining from the dim lamp light. For a while, they just sat there, entranced by the gaze of one another. Just staring into the depths of each other's eyes. As if the moment couldn't get more enticing, Sting reached his hand out to her face, his fingers touching the bandages that were wrapped around her head, then moving down to caress her cheek. Instinctively, her eyes closed and she leaned against the smoothness of his hand, her breathing soft and steady.

Suddenly, though not abruptly, the warmth of Sting's hand left her face as he stood up from the chair and walked toward the window. Lee could only stare at him, watching his every graceful move. As if in a last-minute thought, she stopped him with the sound of her voice.

"Do you even know my name?"

Once more, he turned to face her, their eyes meeting as the faintest hint of a smile crossed his face. An unconscious, pleasurable shiver went up her spine.

"Get well soon, Lee." he spoke, then swiftly jumped out the window. Leaving her to stare at the billowing curtains before she clicked the light of the lamp off and fell back onto the small bed, closing her eyes and letting sleep take over.


	3. The Scorpion

Surprisingly, I was released for the hospital one day later with everything healed up and no more signs of damage. After hearing the news, Olivia and Shayne nearly ran for the hills to come get me, ecstatic beyond belief. Upon arriving back at the hotel everyone was staying at, while the girls sat on the couch and turned on the television, I opened the door to the balcony and looked over the edge, my thoughts still on what happened last night. I should have been focusing on Impact this coming Thursday, but my mind was on another subject entirely.

I couldn't take my mind off of Sting. That man was a mystery in all means of the word, and since the encounter last week, he was all I could think about. The way he moved, the tone of his voice, the color of his eyes… I was entranced by everything he did. There were so many questions that ran through my mind about him, all with vague answers. Who was he, really? And why did his presence seem to haunt me like this? No one had ever done it before…

I was determined to figure out his back-story, his motives, and his reasoning for why he seemed to be intrigued by me. But for now, I wanted to wait just a little longer. There might be more to figure out than what I assumed.

When Thursday had finally come, I was ready now more than ever to get back in the ring once more. Being hit in the head by a chair wouldn't keep me down for long. Not to mention I was eager to get back at Madison and Tara, as well. I may have won the match, but only because of the black-haired Knockout. This time, I wanted a truly fair match. And nothing would stop me from the getting the victory I deserved.

Lacing up my boots took me slightly longer than usual, due to my mind constantly wandering. Even so, with my focus back on track for the most part, I finished smearing the fake blood on my clothing and proceeded out the door to the backstage area.

I started to think about the possibilities of who I would face tonight. Sure, I wanted to beat Madison and Tara to a pulp, but there were others that had caught my eye. There were the twins, Sarita and Rosita, who had stolen the Tag Team Championships away from Angelina Love and Velvet Sky.

Then, there was Christy Hemme and Cookie. The one word to sum those two girls up- annoying. Whenever they come out, they walk around acting like they own the place and think they can win every match they're in. They're too arrogant for their own good. Honestly, they aren't even worth my time. Then, there's the fact that I can hardly even listen to their voices for more than three seconds before I want to strangle them.

So-Cal Val was, simply put, a dumb bitch. Weak and pathetic, as well. I could easily get a pinfall over her. Same with Eric Bischoff's little whore, Ms. Tessmacher. Just because she thinks she's good-looking doesn't mean she can wrestle. All she was made to do was look pretty next to that old man and suck up to the members of Immortal.

But then, there was Winter. She wasn't exactly weird, but there was something about her that just made her seem… well, awkward. She also had an unusual way of coming out to the ring whenever she had a match, which was wearing a blindfold over her eyes. I didn't mean to be rude towards her, but in all reality, she was kind of a freak. What's more is she seems to have this "effect" on Angelina whenever she's around. It's almost as if Winter's got her under a spell of some sorts. Sort of similar to what I'm experiencing with Sting…

No, no, no! I couldn't let him interfere with my thoughts! Even so, he was on my mind more than ever. I half-wondered if I should tell him about this, but I didn't want to come off as any sort of insane. Just like I told myself back at the hotel- don't worry about it too much at the moment, focus on something else. And for now, just wait.

* * *

><p>Lee stood in the ring, a hand on her hip while the other rested at her side, her fingers curling around a microphone. And believe you me, she did not look happy. Not one bit.<p>

"Madison!" she spoke, turning to the entrance of the arena, "Last week, you and I were supposed to fight a fair match, just you and me. But since your little lackey, Tara, came out during the middle of it in a desperate attempt to save your ass, it ended in my victory, though not the way I wanted it to."

The crowd around her cheered wildly in her favor as she strutted toward the front of the ring, her arms resting on the top rope. "Now this time, I'm challenging you once more. And again, it will only be between you and me. No Tara to support you, no Shayne or Olivia to support me. So if you can really keep your word this time of being fair, I challenge you to come out into this ring right now and face me."

Surprisingly, she didn't have to wait long for a response, because about five seconds later, the brunette she had called out came walking down the ramp, and this time, alone.

"Listen here, Lee- while I may have not expected Tara to come out that day, I strictly told her not to interfere." she told her, "Because I wanted the victory for that match."

The brunettes locked eyes heatedly, Lee having a hard time believing Madison's words. Their stare-down was then interrupted by another entrance theme- faint at first, but grew in sound when they turned to the entrance to see the only people Lee hated even more than Madison.

The members of Immortal.

Led by Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and Ric Flair, the other four members present followed diligently behind like a group of pack mules as they all stared straight ahead at the females in the ring. The looks on the faces of Abyss, Bully Ray, Gunner and Murphy were blank and expressionless, but not after they climbed into the ring behind the leaders of the group. Hogan, Bischoff, and Flair looked positively giddy as they stared at the two knockouts.

"Now this… oh boy, this is what I like to see!" Hogan rambled, waving his free hand in the air as if he was happily swatting a fly. "Two pissed off Knockouts going at it!"

Lee rolled her eyes, not at all amused by the arrival of her worst enemies who had attempted to screw her over numerous times on many occasions. "You have no business coming out here, Hogan," she spat, "Nor do you have anything to contribute to this, so stay out of it." She was about to reach out to smack the leader of Immortal in the face, only to find the hands of Abyss holding onto her arms, keeping her from doing so.

"On the contrary, we do have business here, LeeLee." Bischoff told her, stepping forward. The brunette growled at the nickname she had been given. "We've been eyeing the rivalry between you and Madison for some time now, and we want to take this match you're planning a little step further."

This time, Madison put in her two cents. "And how would you do that?"

The smile on Hogan's face made Madison back up, as it looked like he had something up his sleeve. "By making the rematch… into a title match."

At those words, the crowd burst into cheers. Madison's jaw fell open in disbelief, while Lee raised an eyebrow and smirked to herself, looking slightly more interested.

"It'll be simple," Flair added, "Lee Aiden VS Madison Rayne for the TNA Knockout's Championship. But just like our lovely little LeeLee here said-" He was nearly kicked in the face by said female at the repeated moniker, "There will be no support for either one of you. No Tara, Olivia, or Shayne."

Then it was Bischoff's turn to come back into the mix at the sight of the Knockouts slowly nodding. "And this goes for both of you… if any one of those three comes out to the arena, they'll be fired. Plus, depending on who comes out, the match will end in Disqualification and the title will automatically go to the other opponent."

Applause from the crowd became louder than ever. Madison looked like she was ready to fall over and faint, but the look on Lee's face was as if she was a five-year old in a candy store. This was going better than expected. In fact, it was as if, because of Immortal, everything was finally going to go her way.

* * *

><p><strong>~THE FOLLOWING WEEK~<strong>

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my blue eyes boring into the glass with heated anticipation. Despite my eagerness to beat Madison fair and square, once and for all, I was itching to get at Hogan and the rest of Immortal for sticking their noses in our… my business. Shayne and Olivia were in the locker room with me, sitting uncomfortably on the couch and glancing back and forth at me like I could snap at any given minute. Eventually, I let out a shout of rage and pulled my hand back, ready to punch the glass of the mirror, when I heard them jump up and felt their hands holding me back.

"Lee, don't! You'll injure yourself before the match!" Shayne yelped, utterly concerned about me and what I had almost done. But as though I had been possessed, I broke free of their hold and proceeded to pick up a chair, throwing it across the room so hard that it bounced off the wall and fell to the ground, broken in half. I screamed loudly and kicked the wall before stomping out of my locker room and walking toward a ladder, pushing it to the ground and denting it, then threw at least three more chairs at the wall. Sensing the trouble running through me, my friends walked out of my locker room and left me alone.

By the time I was finished demolishing the backstage area, I was pissed off beyond belief- and still not completely done with letting my anger out. I walked back to my open locker room and screamed again, pulling my hand back once more to punch the mirror again, and just like last time, I felt a pair of hands take hold of my arm.

Only it was Olivia or Shayne who did so.

"Calm down, Lee. This won't solve anything." That voice again. I heard it ring through my ears like the song of a guardian angel coming to my rescue. Just to make sure it wasn't an illusion, I turned around slowly and was met with a face I had longed to see since the night I was in the hospital, painted face and all.

My blue eyes met with his brown ones, and unconsciously, I felt my knees go weak. I had to fight to keep my balance, but as I figured, I couldn't keep my body up and nearly fell backwards. Thankfully, he caught me just in time, holding me in his arms and cradling me like a child. My breathing eventually went back to normal as I lay limp in the arms of The Icon. For what seemed like an eternity, he just held me there, his arms at my sides before they slowly moved to my waist and hugged me from behind, pulling me closer to him. I then rested my head against his chest, closing my eyes. I could hear his heartbeat…

Suddenly, I couldn't handle hiding bottle up feelings any longer- I slipped out of Sting's grasp and buried my face in my hands, letting the tears fall. I didn't care what he saw or thought, I could only pulse violently back and forth, wracking with sobs. I thought he would walk out and leave me just like Olivia and Shayne did, but instead, I felt myself being stood up and turned around by a gentle pair of hands.

"Lee… tell me what's wrong." he ushered. Not in a rushing manner, but in a way that showed he definitely wanted to know. I looked up at his face, and once more, our eyes locked. Eventually, my voice found its way up from my throat.

"I-I… I can't stand Immortal. Everything they do. I despise them." my voice hiccupped between every sentence. "I want to get my hands on them. And when I do, I'm going to hurt them. I'm going to beat them all to pulps. I. Will. Make. Them. Suffer." The words spoken through a face covered in tears didn't make it any easier for me. I started to wonder if he would do anything. Help me, comfort me, anything. My question was answered when he reached out to brush a strand of hair out of my face, his hand on my face just like it was two weeks ago, only this time, his thumb was gingerly brushing against the skin of my cheek.

"There are so many others who share your feelings. Though they may not be as extreme as yours, they have that in common with you." Sting's voice was a whisper as he continued to slowly stroke the side of my face. "You may remember that I'm one of those people." He paused, allowing me to nod before speaking again. "And because of that, I'm going to support you every step of the way."

For a brief moment, my eyes widened. The Icon was actually going to support me? It was almost too good to be true. But the look in his eyes proved it right, and for the first time in a long time, it caused me to smile. Not smirk, but actually smile. He then reached out a hand and helped me off the ground back onto my feet. It was then I glanced at the clock mounted on the wall and realized my title match against Madison was nearing. I turned back to Sting to see him reaching into the pocket of his coat, pulling something out and walking over to me. I wondered what he was doing, and he soon answered my unvoiced question by showing me what he was holding in his hand.

It was a necklace. Moreso, a pendant on a silver chain. And inside the glass pendant was a tiny scorpion.

"It's a good luck charm," he smiled at me before taking a few steps behind me. I soon felt the metal of the chain around my neck as he proceeded to fasten it on. "And I'd like you to have it."

I slowly took the little scorpion charm in my fingers, eyeing it with a curious, but grateful gaze before meeting eyes with The Icon again. Once more, I got lost in those deep brown eyes, so mesmerizing, so intense, so enticing… his voice snapped me back to reality.

"This way," he pointed to the necklace, then to my forehead, and finally where my heart would be, "you'll always have a piece of me. No matter what."

I smiled at him, trying to keep my face from practically glowing. "Thank you, Sting."

He matched my smile as I turned to walk toward the arena to meet Madison for my match, but seconds later, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind in an embrace. I froze in my tracks when Sting's face rested on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Good luck, Lee. I'll be watching you."

I nodded and continued walking after he let go of my waist and went the other way. But while I thought against possible strategies to win my first ever title match, the invading butterflies never left my stomach.

What was this man doing to me?


	4. Crush 'Em

At the sound of Megadeth's heavy, tough guitar riffs that the whole crowd had come to know and love so quickly, cheers and applause filled the arena. It was only seconds later that a familiar brunette, blue-eyed knockout emerged on the ramp, dressed in her bloody white tank top and Tripp pants that were cut off into khakis, which showed her black and red checkerboard lace-up boots. Striped white and black armbands adorned her elbows down to her hands as she raised her arms in the air. But something was different- around her neck was something that had never been there before. It appeared to be a chain necklace with a small scorpion inside the glass pendant. Still, she allowed herself to smile like her old self.

_When all along the road,_

_All the bodies left behind._

_May all have been good friends,_

_Just not good friends of mine._

"This bout is set for one-fall, and it is for the TNA Knockout's Championship! Approaching the ring first, from Green Bay, Wisconsin- Lee Aiden!"

Lee's smile soon changed into a smirk as she ran down the ramp, slapping the hands of fans behind the guard rails before she made her way into the ring, sliding under the bottom rope. Climbing on the turnbuckle and showing respect to the crowd, they cheered even louder for her as she blew a few kisses to them. But the moment quickly ended when her music was replaced with Madison's.

The strange thing was, her opponent didn't look as confident as usual. She was walking slowly toward the ring, staring straight ahead. It was very unlike her, but it didn't phase Lee one bit.

_That's right, Madison. _she thought, locking eyes with the other Knockout. _Take your sweet time coming down that ramp. Either way, that title of yours will be mine._

It took nearly thirty seconds for Madison to make her way into the ring before the opening bell rang. Immediately, Lee backed up into the ropes before hitting Madison with a drop-kick to the face. Giving her no time to react, she grabbed her by the hair and quickly delivered a backbreaker to stun her before landing an elbow drop shortly after. One thing was for sure, if Madison thought she had it bad two weeks ago against Lee, then tonight's match was going to give her hell.

Several minutes later, the match was, for the most part, still in Lee's control. After nailing a Headcrusher, she started to climb up to the top rope to finish her for real this time with a Chaos Theory.

"This time, you're done." she muttered, before executing the finisher perfectly, knocking Madison to the floor. With that, she rushed toward the fallen brunette and went for the pin. Her heart began to beat faster and faster at the sound of the count.

"1..." her shoulders remained on the ground. "…2..." she didn't move an inch. "…3!"Shocked and ecstatic beyond belief, Lee rolled off of Madison with wide eyes and an ever wider smile. She had done it- she'd finally beaten her fair and square. And along with that, earned one of the greatest prizes ever- she had taken away her Championship.

"The winner of this match, and _new_ TNA Knockout's Champion… Lee Aiden!"

The white accented belt was handed to her by the referee, and at first, she could only stare at the reward in her hands. After a few seconds, though, it hit her. She then proceeded to run to the turnbuckle and stand on the top, raising her hands- and her new title- into the air, much to the delight of not only her, but to all of the screaming crowd in the sold-out arena.

* * *

><p>"You did it! I can't believe you did it!" I was nearly hugged to death by Shayne and Olivia when they saw my newly acquired Knockout's Champion title slung over my shoulder. Well, they also nearly knocked it off because of them squeezing the life out of me.<p>

"Guys, guys! Take it easy, I'm bruised enough as it is from that match." I laughed, brushing myself off after they had eventually let go. But as I was readjusting the title, their eyes diverted from said belt to the object adorning my neck.

Almost hesitantly, Olivia pointed. "Hey Lee, what's that?"

"Hmm? What's… what?" I responded to her question with one of my own, blinking once and tying my hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of my face.

"That necklace. I've never seen it before…" I soon realized what she was talking about, looking down and taking the pendant portion of the chain in my hands.

"Oh, this? It's a good-luck charm. Sting gave it to me." Unknowingly, a blush made its way onto my face. The two must not have seen it, or knew about my past encounters with The Icon, so they simply took it as a friendly gesture.

"Sting, huh?" Shayne pondered, "That's pretty cool for him to do that." she stepped closer to get a glance at the tiny scorpion inside. I nodded, letting the pendant slip out of my fingers so I could adjust my tank top.

"I'll say. It definitely helped, that's for sure." I chuckled, patting the belt for emphasis. After speaking for a few more minutes, the girls and I went our separate ways. Well, they just walked to their locker rooms and left me alone in mine. Afterwards, I sat down on a chair in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection like I had done not so long ago this same night. Some time passed, and I began to hear footsteps walk into my room. I thought it was either Olivia, Shayne, Angelina, or Velvet, but a white-painted face in the mirror proved me wrong.

"I see we have a new Knockout's Champion," his voice played a smile, "the gift I gave you must've helped."

I didn't even need to turn around to speak to him. "You have no idea." Eventually, though, I stood up from the chair and faced him directly. Once more, those deep brown eyes of his locked with mine and I nearly lost my train of thought. Damn those eyes. They put me under a spell every time, yet they were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen…

I finally saw that smile appear on his face. Oh, his smile. It was absolutely breathtaking. "You're one of a kind, Lee. I knew there was a reason I had so much faith in you."

My eyes widened at those words as I could only stare at him, my smile turning into an expression of surprise. He chuckled at my changed face, then stepped closer. Like I had grown so used to over the past weeks, he reached out to touch my face, his hand pressed softly against my cheek, fingers brushing against my skin and lightly caressing. The look on my face barely changed as my eyes never left his face. Even when it was painted in white and decorated with the black and red accents, he still made my heart beat faster. And I still didn't know why.

"But why me?" I finally spoke, in little more than a whisper. "Why believe in me? There's others more deserving of this title…" I let the belt slip from my grasp, but Sting caught it with his free hand and placed it back on my shoulder.

"Because," he whispered back just as quietly, his other hand then reaching behind me to place itself on the small of my back and pull me oh-so closer to him. The hand on my face moved to my hair, his fingers running through it gently. "There's something different about you. Something I've grown to like… a lot."

I swallowed the lump in my throat while my heart nearly burst out of my chest. Instinctively, our breaths mingled due to the fact our faces were close enough to touch. And oh lord, this was pure torture. Pure, amazing, enticing torture. Eventually, I found the courage to wrap my arms around his mid-back. Slowly, our foreheads touched. Then, our noses. His lips were only inches from mine… centimeters… millimeters… right about to touch.

Oh my god.. Was he actually… going to… kiss me?

A scream interrupted the moment between us, causing me to yank my face away abruptly, and of course, I had to try my best to hide my obvious reluctance to do so. I heard another identical scream again seconds later. Wait… I recognized that scream. It was Velvet Sky!

I forced myself to look at Sting, my face showing concern and worry. "I-I have to go. That was Velvet. I think she might be in trouble."

He nodded, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "Then go. She needs you." Before I left, I found myself, once more, being brought into an embrace by The Icon that made my heart soar before he released me and allowed me to go.

Dammit, Velvet. You just ruined the once chance I had with the man I…

_No, no, no! Do not say that! You don't feel that strongly about him yet! _My mind screamed to me in a desperate attempt to make me focus. My hands reached up to clutch my head to ease the headache that began to grow.

What did I feel for Sting? And why did it continue to haunt me like this?

Did I… love him?

* * *

><p>The door to Velvet Sky's locker room was all but nearly thrown off its hinges as the brunette form of Lee rushed through and found the streaked blonde-haired Knockout lying limp on the floor.<p>

"Velvet? You okay?" she questioned, lightly shaking the girl awake. Slowly, she began to stir, and found the strength to sit up, turning to face the brunette.

"Lee… you are not going to believe what just happened." she spoke, tucking some hair behind her ear as said female helped her up.

The Knockout's Champion stared at Velvet as if she had grown a second head. "I've had a lot of crazy things happen over the past few weeks. At this point, I'll believe anything anyone says."

The streaked blonde inhaled slowly, biting her lip before responding. "Okay, then… you know how you found me like this on the ground some seconds ago?" Lee nodded, signaling her to continue. She hesitated, but soon opened her mouth once more. "…Angelina did this."

It took every ounce of Lee's being to prevent her jaw dropping to the floor. She knew that something had been wrong with Angelina the last couple showings of Impact, but never in the world would she think the girl would turn on her best friend. "Wh-why would she do that?"

Velvet shook her head, tears threatening to fall. "I honestly don't know…" she soon started to cry softly, Lee bringing her blonde friend into a hug and letting her cry into her shoulder.

After some minutes of letting go, Velvet then looked up at the brunette. Only her expression had changed drastically. She was no longer sad, upset, or anything similar to that.

She was royally pissed off.

"But I do know who did this to her."

Lee placed her hands on the other Knockout's shoulders, staring her straight in the eyes. "Tell me. I'll find them and make sure they learn a valuable lesson- to never, ever mess with my friends."

When the name left the blonde's lips, the Knockout's Champion scrambled up from the floor and kicked the door back open, running down the hall. Velvet's cries fell on deaf ears as the brunette kept running, only to collapse in a heap on the floor. Her facial expression was mixed with anger and pure hatred. Just like she had done several times before, she let out a scream of rage, the shot to her feet and punched the wall so hard, it actually formed a hole where her fist had been. Slowly bringing her bruised, white-knuckled hand into her line of vision, she let her hair fall in front of her face as she whispered the name of the one who was now number one on her "To-Do List" through gritted teeth. Her eyes were set to kill.

"Damn you…Winter."


	5. Ecstasy

"What? What do you mean you can't do anything about it?" my voice was about to crack as I held the cell phone against my ear, having a desperate conversation with former TNA President Dixie Carter. I knew that the business had been "taken over" by Hogan, but I didn't care. To me, Dixie still had all the true power, even though she really didn't anymore.

"You know I can't, Lee. Since Hulk took over TNA, I have no more say in anything. You'll… you'll have to talk to him about it."

She couldn't see it, but at her words, I wrinkled my nose up in disgust. "Are you crazy, Dixie? I don't care how desperate I am to get into a match with Winter; there is no way in hell that I am saying one word to Hogan!" I found myself quickly losing my temper, so I paused to take a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm only doing that in the worst-case scenario, so otherwise, I'm going to try and find my own way to get her in the ring."

"Good luck, Lee. And congratulations on winning the Knockout's Championship, by the way." I smiled and thanked her before hanging up and snapping my phone shut.

I had promised myself and Velvet Sky that I would do anything in my power to save Angelina and beat Winter. But I wouldn't go to lengths of asking Hogan for help. After everything he tried to do to me in the past, including kidnapping me to force me to join Immortal, that would be the last thing I would ever do.

But instead of worrying about a match at the moment, I was curious to see what exactly Winter was up to, why she had targeted Angelina, and why she had turned the blonde into what she was now. I was determined to know what that freak had done to one of my best friends. And I wouldn't rest until I knew the truth.

Opening the door to my locker room, I peeked out and took the time to glance to the left and right to make sure no one saw what I was about to do, then made a quick dash out into the backstage area, heading for Winter's locker room. If what Velvet had told me was true, then Angelina was mostly cramped inside that room, 24/7, unless she had a match. Which nowadays, wasn't all that common anymore. It was Winter who did all the fighting- which served as a great advantage for me. Winter never turned down a challenge, even in the most risky of cases. This way, there was no doubt in my mind that I could get her inside that ring and teach her a lesson. Now that my fight with Madison was officially over, Winter was my number one enemy Knockout-wise. And it wouldn't end until I put her away just like the brunette before me.

I heard a familiar British accent coming from behind the door I just passed, and pressed my ear to the wood to listen. I only caught little bits of what she was saying, and they weren't very understandable, so I did the next best thing. Standing up on my toes, I peered through the peephole and watched what was happening.

I saw the dark-haired Knockout pacing around Angelina, who was sitting in a chair with a blank look on her face. No expression or feeling whatsoever. It was almost as if she was a zombie. She looked so… lifeless.

"Now listen, Angelina- while you've proven yourself to me, this isn't completely over yet. Beating up Velvet Sky back there was impressive, though. But now you need to focus on that other girl, Lee." I heard Winter say, "The new Knockout's Champion."

I nodded to myself, basking in the glory of the title I now had before regaining focus and listening in again. "You see, they're not really your friends. They're using you; playing you like a toy meant to be thrown in the trash once the task is completed. But I'm your friend, Angelina. You can always count on me."

Lies. They were spewing from Winter's mouth like lava erupting from a volcano. She was telling her nothing but lies. Oh, how I wanted so badly to just break the door down, barge in there, and call the bitch out. But I couldn't. Not now. It would give my position away, and that was something I didn't want.

I briefly took my ear away from the door to glance through the peephole again, watching Winter hand Angelina a plastic cup with something inside. My guess was, she wanted her to drink it. And, like the obedient little puppet she was now, she did, slowly bringing her lips to the rim and taking a long sip.

My first initial thought was, _What the hell is she drinking?_, but I pushed it to the back of my mind for the time being. I would find that out later- Winter and Angelina were headed for the door. Swiftly, I hid behind the wall as they exited their room and walked the other way, much to my relief. Once out of sight, I snuck through the door and glanced around. Everything seemed normal at first sight, nothing too suspicious…

…but then there was the cup left on the desk.

Deciding to get a closer look, I walked over and picked it up, looking inside. To me, it looked like a simple glass of water. But there was a strange odor coming from it. After I took a quick sniff, I nearly gagged as I pulled back. How could Angelina drink this? It smelt awful! I set the cup back down, then looked a few inches to the right. What was there not only surprised me, but solved the present mystery.

There was a small container of round, white pills, crushed up into a powdery substance, sitting next to the cup.

Curiously, I picked up the object once more and glanced inside. It was faint, but I could see small, white flakes floating on top of the water.

Winter had drugged her.

With a growl, I raced back to Velvet's locker room to tell her what I had found.

One problem down, yet there was still a million more to go.

* * *

><p>Velvet Sky raised an eyebrow, staring at her brunette, blue-eyed friend as if she was crazy. "You're sure that's what's going on?" she questioned.<p>

Lee gave her an affirmative nod. "I saw it with my own eyes," she told her, "and I don't lie." She sighed heavily, her eyes nearly rolling in the back of her head out of disgust. There was hardly a doubt in her mind that if this would continue any further than the degree it was already at, she would snap. "I mean, I know Winter's strange and all, but I never expected her to do something like…this."

"Yeah, but why target Angelina, of all people?" Velvet wondered, "Is there something about her that Winter found interesting?"

_Like me and Sting?_ Lee thought, but shook herself mentally and focused back on the blonde in front of her and shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not Winter. I don't think like her, so I wouldn't see a main reason."

Velvet put a finger against her mouth in thought, watching as Lee crossed her arms and slumped further back in the chair she was seated in. Silence lingered, but then, it seemed to hit the brunette, because her eyes widened just slightly enough to draw her friend's attention. "I've got it." Eagerly, Velvet turned to face the Knockout's Champion to hear her theory. As if on cue, Lee grinned mischievously. "She's jealous," she spoke, gesturing to herself and the blonde in front of her, "Jealous of the 'best friend' relationship you and I had…and have, with Angelina."

Leaning forward in the chair, she raised a finger in the air. "That's why Winter's doing what she's doing. She's brainwashing Angelina into thinking that she's her friend and that we are her enemies."

Slowly but surely, Velvet nodded. "Y'know, that actually makes perfect sense." she whispered. "But how are we going to get her back? Winter won't give up without a fight."

Lee diverted her eyes to the ceiling, thinking of all the true possible options, and let a groan escape her throat. As much as she hated to admit it, there was only one way.

"We have to talk to Hogan or Bischoff. They'll give me a match."

Standing in front of the small office door, Lee frowned. Why couldn't there be another way to get a match with Winter? Must she have to speak to the people she hated most of all? Even so, she raised her hand to knock.

Velvet placed a hand on her arm, pausing her in mid-reach. "Lee, you really don't have to go through with this. I'll fight Winter-"

"No, Velvet." she spoke plainly, slowly removing the blonde's hand from her elbow. "If you fight, you'll hurt yourself more than you think." She sighed inwardly. "Not saying that you couldn't beat her, but I don't want you getting hurt. I'll be the one to fight Winter." Her hand finally touched the wood, and she knocked on the door. "Just leave this to me."

After a few seconds, the door opened, and Bischoff stood in the entryway. Thankfully for Lee, this was slightly better than having to deal with Hogan.

Slightly better.

"Well, this certainly is a nice surprise." Bischoff spoke, nodding to the Knockouts. "Lee Aiden and Velvet Sky. Please, come in."

The brunette Knockout's Champion was tempted to give him the finger and tell him to shove it, but since the girls were trying to be decent and professional, they simply sat down on the couch and waited for him to speak again.

The grey-haired Co-Leader of Immortal sat across from them in a chair seated behind the desk that sat in front of them. "So what can I do for you ladies?" he asked, surprisingly polite.

_I guess he's not as bad as I thought him to be. _Lee told herself. She leaned forward in her seat and placed her hands on the desk. "Well, you probably haven't noticed, but there's something pretty strange going on with Angelina. And Winter's behind it all." Bischoff nodded as the brunette spoke, "I want nothing more than to beat her into the ground because of that. And because of being the opportunist that you are," she wanted to gag at quoting him from an earlier incident, but finished, "I'm asking you to put me in a match against her."

From time to time, Bischoff nodded occasionally, writing notes on a piece of paper to keep note on the request. "Alright, then. Any special rules you wanted to put in?"

Velvet looked at the Knockout's Champion for her cue, and it was given. "No disqualifications, no holds barred." Lee watched with narrowed eyes as Bischoff scribbled down the details of the match. "Anything else, Lee?"

Pleasantly surprised at being called by her actual name, she let a smile cross her face, but let it fade as she became lost in thought. The stimulations for the match that Velvet had listed off were both of their ideas, but she wanted to add a little more of her own standards. She wanted things done her way, and no other way. Turning back to Bischoff, she nodded once more.

"Make it a steel cage match at Lethal Lockdown." she responded, "And put up an ante of sorts, as well." Regaining the same excitable grin he normally had when something interesting was going on, the Co-Leader of Immortal nodded, urging for the Knockout's Champion to continue. "If Winter wins the match, she keeps Angelina and we disband The Beautiful People for good."

Bischoff nodded slowly. "And if you win?" He saw some of Lee's hair fall into her face and cover her left eye, giving her a sort of evil gaze as she looked up and smirked.

"We get Angelina back… and Winter is fired."

* * *

><p>It was an absolute success. Bischoff had agreed to what I had requested, and my match with Winter at Lockdown was now a definite; there was no going back and no room for error. This was going to be my second "first ever" match- the first one being the title match against Madison- and this one was inside a steel cage. Not to mention I had made it a Lethal Lockdown, where weapons would be legal. I would have to learn special maneuvers with them in order to keep the match in my control, otherwise there was no chance of victory.<p>

Thankfully, I knew just the person to do so.

I skipped almost merrily down the backstage area to where the men's locker rooms were located, trying to find the one I was looking for. When my eyes caught glance of it, I stopped in my tracks and knocked on the door. Seconds later, the smiling face of Rob Van Dam was staring at me.

"Hey, little LeeLee." he greeted. I waved at him, giggling softly. I hated it when everyone else called me the nickname that Rob had given me from the start. It was his nickname for me, and no one else's. After I had stepped inside and sat on a chair, the brunette male closed the door and sat down next to me. "So what's goin' on?"

I laced my fingers together and started tapping my foot on the floor. "Well, I wanted to put myself in a match against Winter, and that's what I did… but I guess I took it a step further and turned it into a Lethal Lockdown match."

At the words "Lethal Lockdown", he shot forward and grabbed my shoulders. "What? Lee, there's no way you'll survive a match like that! Think of what will happen to you with weapons actually being legal- it'll be a whole lot worse than that chair incident with Madison four weeks ago. You'll be out for more than-"

"That's why I came to you." I shushed him, pressing a finger to his mouth. "You've dealt with matches like this before in the past, so I wanted you to teach me some moves to use with weapons. I want to know how to use a chair in its finest format."

Rob stared at me for a long time before eventually letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Alright, I'll teach you some moves. But you have to remember something- they may not always work. You'll have to work hard to master these moves before Lockdown in three weeks. Understand?"

I gave him an eager nod, a smile decorating my face once more. He grinned back at me and ruffled my hair. "Okay, kiddo. Go get yourself ready for Impact. I'll see you in a bit."

I flashed him a wave goodbye before walking back to the women's lockers rooms. Learning moves from the one and only Rob Van Dam was going to be fun, but also a huge workout. I'd have to show him everything I had if I wanted to win the match against Winter.

I just wondered if everything I had would be enough.

When I had made it back to my locker room, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to find the lights completely turned off.

Strange… I had only been gone for about five minutes, plus I had left the lights on. Who had been in here? And were they still in here with me?

My question was answered after taking a few more steps forward, shitting the door and turning on the lights. Turning to the couch in the corner, my eyes met with dark brown ones that seemed to shine at the sight of my face.

The Icon stood up from his position and stared at me. For some reason, he looked worried… almost scared. "You really don't know what you've gotten yourself into, do you?" he whispered.

I sighed. There was no way I could put up a tough exterior in front of him, nor could I lie for him to believe it. I simply shook my head and stared at my boots. "No… I don't." I revealed. "But how else could I make an impact on Winter? If I don't beat her in a good enough match, then what am I going to do?"

I could feel hands balling into fists just thinking about the dark-haired Knockout that had taken my friend away. "It's as if the only way to get Angelina back is by force. And if that's what I have to do, then I'm going to do it." Looking up to face him, our eyes locked like they always did. It was as if we were staring into each other's souls. I couldn't resist meeting those eyes; such a beautiful shade of brown on a face I assumed was just as beautiful.

I then turned to walk away, but before I could do so, I felt a hand take mine, causing me to turn back around. He was not even a foot away from me now, his fingers weaving through mine, tickling my skin and causing me to unconsciously shiver with delight. For the longest time, he just stared at me with those eyes of his, hypnotizing me. Then, he spoke in a hushed, almost deadly whisper.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

For a moment, my eyes flashed. What did he mean when he said that? What do I do to him? Why is he saying-

Oh. My. God.

"N-no… I don't." I half-lied, debating whether or not to keep meeting his gaze. Knowing only the partial truth behind what had come out of my mouth, he placed both his hands on my arms and pulled me closer, staring into the depths of my ocean blue eyes.

"You have made me feel so many things that I haven't felt in what seems like forever. It was ever since our first encounter, face-to-face, that this all started to come over me."

He moved one of his hands to touch my face. "Want…"

The other went to my waist. "Need…"

He brought me closer so that there was almost no space in between us. "Longing…"

The hand on my face gently stroked my cheek. "Yearning…"

His other hand moved from my waist to gently cup my face in his hands. "Desire…"

By now, I was very sure that I was blushing at least ten different shades of pink as his thumb slowly brushed across my mouth. Then, just like last week, he leaned in so our foreheads touched. Then, our noses. I felt his warm breath on my face, merging with mine, making my head spin, my stomach do flips, and my heart pound out of my chest. It was then I noticed how close how faces were once more. Our lips were the closest distance possible to touching without doing so. There was no doubt in my mind that I was very close to fainting.

"Sting…" I whispered, my arms wrapping around his back on instinct. "Wh…what are you doing?"

He smiled softly, caressing my cheek once more before whispering sincerely, yet with the faintest hint of what seemed to be lust, to me. "Something I should have done a long time ago."

With that, he brought my face up to his, pressed his lips to mine, and kissed me.

I was at a loss for words. The man I had idolized, looked up to since day one, the man who kept giving me butterflies of every size possible, was kissing me.

Then it hit me.

I moved my arms to wrap around his neck, slowly returning the kiss and pulling him closer- if I already couldn't. I could feel him smile against my lips as his hands moved from my face to snake around my waist, causing a soft, light moan to fight its way up from my throat. The kiss deepened as seconds passed, growing more intense and passionate with every waking moment. His fingers gently ran through my hair, lightly tickling the skin on the back of my neck. Eventually, I felt the smooth roughness of his tongue start to run across my lips. Unknowing of what to do at first, my lips parted and his tongue slipped inside, causing me to gasp inwardly, but I immediately recovered. The second my mouth was invaded, it sent my mind into a frenzy. This was a whole new experience that I was loving and craving more of. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and there was no way I could, or would, turn away from it.

A fight for dominance reigned, and my body ended up being pressed up against the wall as the kiss intensified. I couldn't fight the moans that escaped, nor could I resist the desire that was building inside me. My fingers entangled themselves in his hair as I brought him closer to me, closing every space. The battle between our tongues was fought for what seemed like forever, until he eventually won, and started exploring every crevice of my mouth, top to bottom. Each and every kiss became more rough and demanding, but maintained the same passion as from the start.

How I went weak in the knees at the wonders this man was working. This kiss was… Ohhh, it was amazing. I never wanted this to end. But sadly, I knew it had to. Slowly, we pulled apart, staring deeply into the eyes of one another. Our breaths had become ragged and heavy, and I could see it in his eyes, and sense it in mine- we had to restrain ourselves from the building lust.

"I…" I whispered, my voice deep with want. "I've actually wanted you to do that since we met."

His smile was even more beautiful than I ever imagined as his fingers ran through my hair. "Then I guess I'm not the only one."

My mouth nearly dropped open. "What? What do you mean?"

Sting's hands reached back up to hold my face, leaning in and touching my nose to his. "What I mean is, since I first saw you, I was instantly attracted to you. I knew your skills in the ring, but never did I expect a Knockout as beautiful as you to be the one performing them all. You captured my heart from the very beginning."

Once more, he planted a soft, sweet kiss on my lips, and as quick as it was, I savored his taste before he said something to me that I never thought I would hear.

"…I love you."

My face lit up like fireworks as my eyes seemed to sparkle endlessly. "And I love you." I replied, smiling wider than I ever had before. His features nearly matched mine at the sound of those words.

Before we were forced to go our separate ways for Impact, The Icon and I said our farewells and shared one last kiss.

Tonight marked the start of a new me. No longer was I a girl who let things slide by her, nor would I allow anything to get in my way anymore.

Look out, world. Here comes the TNA Knockout's Champion.

Lee Aiden.


	6. Reckoning Day

It was antagonizing, having to wait so long for Lockdown to come. Sure, it was only three weeks to wait, but those three weeks seemed to take forever. Why couldn't it come early? Make a girl happy for once. All I wanted was my match with Winter.

But there was something else that kept coming back in my head. And for once, I didn't try to shove it out whenever it did so. It seemed like just yesterday, even though it was a couple of days ago. That kiss with Sting… oh, how I wish it could happen over and over again. He had filled the void, and now, I was complete.

A knock on my door startled me as I jumped up and reached for the knob, opening it to find Rob, Olivia, and Shayne standing in front of me.

"Hey kiddo, ready to train for Lockdown?" Rob asked me. I nodded and stepped out of the room and followed them to the practice wrestling ring in the hotel. It wasn't as big as the ring in the TNA Arena, but it was a ring, so it worked.

"So, hey," Olivia turned to me as we walked down the stairs, "What's Rob gonna teach you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, for the most part. Mostly some moves with weapons, since it's a Lethal Lockdown." I fixed my ponytail so my hair would stay out of my face while training.

When we had got to the practice ring, Rob and I climbed in while Olivia and Shayne stood outside of the ropes to sit back and watch. I saw Rob reach for a chair behind him outside of the ring; myself watching with my arms crossed over my chest and waiting. He sat it down in front of me, and I knew it was almost exactly the same as the ones used in TNA.

"Now, you're gonna have to listen and take in as much as you can," Rob told me, "Because Lockdown's just two weeks away. I'll try and teach you as much as possible, but there's no guarantee the moves will work. Got it?"

I flashed him a thumbs-up.

"Good to know. Now, let's start with the most basic move." He picked up the chair and proceeded to run at me with it. "Dodging!"

Quickly, I ducked, vaulting out of the way to bounce off the ropes and take him out with a low drop kick to the knees. Stumbling over his footing, he fell to the mat almost face-first- if it wasn't for the fact that he threw the chair behind him and padded his fall as he rolled to the side. I stared hopefully at Rob, watching him get to his feet and smile at me.

"Well, we know you've got that down." he chuckled, "now we just need to teach you some moves with them, is all."

With that, he picked up the chair and gave it to me. I held the steel object in my hands, tempted to just fold it out into the actual chair form and sit on it. But since I was being taught something with having to hit someone with it, I decided against it.

Rob stepped back so I could see him clearly without being in striking distance. "Now, of course, the classic strike with chairs is just whacking your opponent with it, and that's really nothing new. I'm gonna help you learn some more advanced techniques." I nodded every so often, eager to learn.

I'm going to admit right now, those first two hours of training were pretty rough. In order to know how each maneuver worked, Rob purposefully hit me with the chairs on the back, but doing his best to avoid my head. And this was only day one. It was going to get harder every day. But I was prepared for it. I was prepared for anything and everything.

Rob also told me that there would be others helping me with other weapon-based moves as well. Though I didn't know exactly who they were, I gladly accepted their help.

Now all that was really left to do was wait for Lockdown.

* * *

><p>Lee's blue eyes scanned the letter that was left in her locker room relating to tonight's Impact episode- she wasn't scheduled for a match, but she was part of a few promos throughout the night. Setting the piece of paper back down on the table and lacing up her boots, she skipped outside to the backstage area toward the men's locker rooms. This time, she wanted to be the one to appear to him.<p>

Slowing her skipping to a light stroll, she glanced about the doors until she found the one she was looking for, then proceeded to give the wood a gentle knock. To her surprise, when the door opened, The Icon stood in front of her- without face paint on. Still, he acted normal as always and gave her a smile.

"Now this I didn't expect," he chuckled, causing the Knockout's Champion to blush and return his smile. "But I'm definitely not complaining." he ushered her in and as she stepped inside, the brunette caught eye of just some simple necessities, which included Sting's suitcase, an extra wrestling uniform, two of the sequined coats he wore (which Lee secretly wanted to steal one of), and a few brushes and containers of white, black, and red face paint on the desk in front of the mirror. After the door was shut, Sting walked back over to a nearby chair and sat down, facing the Knockout in front of him who had officially stolen his heart as of last week.

"So what brings you here?" he questioned casually, placing his hands on top of hers. Lee shrugged, lacing her fingers with his.

"I just decided to see how you were doing. Plus, since you're always the one who comes to me, I wanted to surprise you." she smiled at him, to which he chuckled and kissed her cheek before turning towards the mirror and grabbing one of the containers of white paint. The Knockout's Champion paused before standing up and walking over to him, taking the paint in her hands. "Here, let me put it on." she offered, dipping her fingers in the paint. A simple nod from him allowed her to brush her white-covered fingers on his forehead and cheeks, neatly covering his face with the paint just the way it was always portrayed. After washing her hands, she picked up a small brush and dipped it in the black container.

"Any specific way you want the designs?" she asked softly, not wanting to ruin the bonding moment between them. In response, Sting shook his head with a small grin on his face.

"Why don't you surprise me?" he chuckled. Rolling her eyes playfully, Lee moved her chair to sit down and apply the paint. Slowly, she guided the bristles of the brush from the creases of his eyes down his face in slightly curved lines that ended just before the jaw, taking her time to make them appear as perfect as humanly possible. As she painted, she slowly began to see the recognizable face of The Icon appear with the designs she made. When she was finished after a few minutes, she stepped away and allowed him to look in the mirror.

His black painted lips curved into a smile. "It looks amazing." He commented, which allowed Lee to blush. "You must really pay attention to the various designs I sport."

The brunette Knockout's Champion shrugged. "Yeah, guilty." She laughed.

Standing up from the chair, Sting brought the female into his arms, smiling into her hair as she slowly snaked her arms around his waist. For some time, the two just stayed like that, engulfed in each other's embrace, until Lee decided to look up to meet the gaze of The Icon. Once more, brown eyes locked with blue, and the two leaned in slowly, Lee's lips brushing against his, softly, tenderly. Neither of them dared to fight the growing intimacy, the simple gesture displaying everything that needed to be said without words.

"Why did you choose me?" Sting eventually whispered, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind the Knockout's Champion's ear before taking her face in his hands.

"That's something I should ask you, too." she responded.

He smiled, bringing Lee's face closer and giving her a long kiss. "There are too many reasons to say in such a short amount of time." he told her, smiling against her lips.

"I can wait to hear them all." she replied.

He laughed softly, capturing her lips again. Her arms slowly found their way around his neck, her fingers running through his hair. She tried to hold back a moan as he skillfully, but slowly, trailed his fingers down the small of her back and pulled her to him.

To their dismay, Lee's watch beeped, signaling the near start of the show. Pulling apart reluctantly, the two champions once more stared into each others eyes. Brown met blue.

"I guess you'd better go out there." she whispered, smiling lightly at him. "Those people are all waiting for you."

The Icon returned her smile, taking her chin in his fingers and kissing her once more before giving her a wave and walking towards the backstage area.

* * *

><p>Olivia and Shayne stared at me as I eagerly watched the small TV in my locker room, my eyes shining as Sting called out Hogan and Bischoff yet again. My smile grew as I watched him walk around the ring, the title slung over his shoulder.<p>

Olivia smirked. "What's with the look on your face, Lee?" she questioned me. I momentarily snapped out of my daze and turned to face her.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" I replied innocently. Though I couldn't hide the pink that started to grow on my cheeks. And there was no denying that she saw it.

"You're staring at Sting. And not normally, either. It's like you're… well, smitten by him."

There was also no denying that the statement she spoke was more than completely true. I wasn't just smitten. I was full-out in love with him. And oh boy, was I liking it. But did I dare tell her about my relationship with The Icon?

No, not now. I'd wait a little while longer before breaking the news about us to my two best friends.

The promo with just Sting, Hogan and Bischoff turned ugly when the rest of Immortal started walking out, save for the Hardys. Then, they were joined shortly after by Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, and even Mr. Anderson. The reason why RVD and Kurt were out was because apparently, Immortal had been talking shit about me and Sting and were there to back us up. I had no clue as to why Anderson had decided to show his ugly mug, so I didn't let it affect me.

It was then I saw and heard- at Lockdown, there would be a match between Sting and Mr. Anderson for the TNA Heavyweight Title. And Anderson, as always, was being the world-famous asshole that he was- bragging about how he'd take the title away from The Icon.

Oh, HELL NO. There was no way in hell that Anderson would win that match. Not against my man. Not on my watch.

I stood up from my seat and stomped out the door, Shayne and Olivia soon following behind me. Their countless questions about the situation, however, fell on deaf ears as I signaled for my music to the stagehand. I was pissed off beyond belief. And believe you me, Immortal was going to get their asses kicked. I would make sure of that.

Starting now.

* * *

><p>The shock on the faces of the members of Immortal was immediately present as the sound of Megadeth's tough guitar riffs signaled the arrival of the audience-proclaimed "Most Badass Knockout In All Of TNA". Lee strutted down the ramp with a look on her face that even made Ric Flair shiver. Flanked on each side by best friends Olivia and Shayne, her eyes were solely focused on the wrestlers in the ring- though mostly on Sting. With The Icon's help, she climbed into the ring through the ropes, microphone in hand and hands on her hips as she glared at Immortal.<p>

"First of all, I wanna make this crystal clear to you, Hogan- you talk smack about Sting, you talk smack about me." her eyes flashed. "And this goes for all of you, not just him, either." She walked over to Bully Ray and stood up straight, looking him dead in the eye. Unlike every other Knockout that dared to stare at the man, she wasn't afraid at all.

"Bully Ray, I've seen you come out here night after night, bragging about how you're the best at what you do. You think you're all that and a bag of chips." she wrinkled her nose unconsciously before continuing. "But you haven't shown any sort of proof of that. And personally, I'd like to take that bag of chips and shove it up right your fat, hairy ass."

The arena screamed in delight as said man grew angrier by the minute, no doubt wanting to strangle the brunette Knockout's Champion until she was out cold. Seeing her words having the affect she wanted, she walked more until she faced the next man in line, Abyss. He seemed to huff at her, baring his teeth at the female. But true to form, it didn't phase her.

"Abyss… you need to realize something here- you're one of the best wrestlers this company has, but here you are, in cahoots with these three clowns," she gestured to Hogan, Bischoff, and Flair, "and as a result, your role with them is their pet." His eyes widened at her words as she spoke. "They're controlling you like you're their slave, Abyss. You don't deserve to be chained up like a dog in a cage. You should be able to control your own life. Don't let them take it away from you."

To everyone's surprise, she patted him on the arm before moving to talk to the rest of Immortal. What was even more shocking was that the masked man touched his arm tenderly, as if it was the first time he'd ever been touched by a woman.

Lee was now staring into the eyes of Gunner. They were a lovely color, but no one's eyes could top The Icon's. Not in the way she saw them.

"And you, Gunner. For gosh sakes, you barely even wrestle anymore! You're the sideshow of Immortal! The back-up plan, the understudy, you name it! Don't you think you should address this instead of having them control how often you come out here?"

His now blank expression made the brunette nod lightly. "I thought so."

Finally, Lee had reached Mr. Anderson. And there was no denying that the look on her face was made of pure rage.

"Well, well, well." she chuckled. "Mr. Anderson. What business do you have with these goons? You trying to take away Sting's rightfully deserved World Heavyweight Championship?" she waited for an answer from him, but got none.

"See, this is why you dub yourself as an asshole. You don't care about anyone but yourself, you expect everything to go your way, and you think that anything you do is going to end up how you want it, just because you say so." she poked him in the chest with her pointer finger. "News flash, asshole- the world doesn't revolve around you! So get it though your head and shut the fuck up for once in your life!"

More screams and cheers erupted from the audience, to Lee's liking. At last, she walked over to stand by Sting.

"So the next time you try talking bad about Sting and me, say it to my face and not behind my back."

Unbeknownst to herself, Sting's hand slipped into Lee's, squeezing lightly- which caught the attention of Olivia and Shayne.

But they would ask her about that later.

Hogan raised an eyebrow before raising his microphone to speak. "Lee, you have a lot of balls to come out here and think you can talk like that, especially to us." he snapped. "But since you want to prove that fact, I'm gonna change something up."

It was Lee's turn to raise an eyebrow as Hogan spoke. "You originally weren't scheduled for a match tonight, but now, you are. A mixed-tag handicap match. You and Sting…" the audience cheered as the two Champions looked at each other and smiled, "VS Bully Ray."

At that sentence, Bully Ray stepped forward to stare at both of his opponents, a sick, twisted grin on his face. Sting's expression was neutral, while Lee simply glared.

"You're going down, sweet cheeks," Ray mocked to the Knockout, "You and you little boyfriend too."

She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as The Icon stepped behind her and snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. "We'll see about that." Lee whispered through gritted teeth. "We'll see."

The two then exited the ring, followed by RVD, Kurt, Olivia and Shayne. As the Champions walked up the ramp, Sting leaned in to whisper in the brunette's ear.

"You did amazing in there." he told her, smiling. She returned the gesture, now noticing he was holding her hand again.

"And this time, we'll get to take down Immortal together."

Then, they kissed.

Olivia and Shayne saw. And their eyes widened in shock.

Their best friend was with The Icon?

Lee Aiden and Sting… were together?


	7. Archetecture of Aggression

"How come you never even bothered to tell us?" Shayne nearly gasped as I reached for my armwarmers. Right now, I didn't really focus on the various questions she and Olivia were asking me. I was much too involved with getting ready for my match with Sting against Bully Ray. This was just fucking great. Not only did I have to deal with Winter at Lethal Lockdown in two weeks, but tonight, I had to attempt to beat this guy too? It was becoming way too much for me to handle!

"You were in a relationship with Sting this whole time?" Olivia sputtered, shocked. I gave her the quickest nod I could before tightening the laces on my boots and stomping out the door, leaving my two best friends in a state of wondering.

"She's… not mad at us, is she?" Olivia whispered, running her fingers through her shoulder-length hair. Shayne hesitated before answering, but shook her head.

"Not mad. Just irritated with Immortal. It's got nothing to do with us." she told her. "And honestly, I can't blame her. She has to face Bully Ray. No Knockout has ever done that."

Olivia nodded. "Though, she does have Sting on her side. That's gotta be a one-up."

Shayne wanted to say more, but didn't open her mouth. Silence, she decided, would be far better than a reassuring lie.

* * *

><p>As The Icon turned the corner to approach the women's locker rooms, he came across the form of his Knockout's Champion sitting on a chair, face buried in her hands. Almost immediately, he rushed to the brunette woman's side, placing his hands on her shoulders, kneading them gently with his fingertips. Slowly, she looked up to meet his gentle, worried gaze. Sting could see a light film of tears coating Lee's eyes.<p>

"Lee? What's wrong?" he asked her, one of his hands moving to her face to cup her cheek. She sniffled, shaking her head violently.

"I'm so sorry, Sting. I got us into this mess, I did this, it's all my fault. I'm the reason we're in this match with Bully Ray. I messed up big time. I'm sorry baby, I'm so sor-"

He cut her off with a kiss. Not hard, but enough to silence her. His lips melded softly against hers as his hands held her face, to which she kissed him back fiercely, with wanting and need. The passion slowly grew between the two as the kiss continued, but like the several last times, he had to part reluctantly before it could get too serious. Even so, Lee wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to her and resting her face in the crook of his neck, slowly taking in his scent. He smelled faintly of cinnamon and vanilla. The Icon could feel her smile against his skin.

"What would I do without you?" she questioned in a whisper, holding Sting as if he was the most precious treasure in the world, not daring to let go. She didn't need an answer, though. Both of them knew what would happen.

The Icon leaned in again, brushing their lips together before whispering against her mouth, "We'd better start going out there. We've got a member of Immortal to beat."

The Knockout's Champion nodded before giving him another quick kiss. Then she was helped to her feet by Sting before he slipped his hand into hers once more. After giving it a tight squeeze, she smiled at him, to which he gratefully returned. Afterwards, they walked through the backstage area to head towards the arena entrance.

It was time to show Immortal what The Icon and The Badass Knockout were really made of.

"The following contest is scheduled for one-fall, and is a two-one-one mixed handicap match." The words spoken from new ring announcer Christy Hemme caused the arena to erupt into a reaction of cheers. Normally, the face was against two people, but this time, it was the heel that had to deal with two faces. And they weren't just any two faces.

The sound of an instrumental song, starting with a distorted guitar riff blasted throughout the Impact Zone, and if it wasn't any more possible, the audience cheered even louder.

"Introducing first of all, from Venice Beach, California, weighing 259 pounds, he is the TNA World Heavyweight Champion… The Icon, Sting!"

The champion's white, black, and red painted face bore a smile as he flashed his belt to the crowd, showing his usual respect to the fans. If any, his smile grew at the sound of the next entrance theme.

_This thing called life goes by so quickly._

_One day you're here and then you're gone._

_This is a moment I've lived my whole life for,_

_And I'll never give up, I've waited too long!_

"And his partner- from Green Bay, Wisconsin, she is the TNA Knockout's Champion… Lee Aiden!"

A smile graced the brunette's features as she strutted out and down the ramp, raising her hands in the air, much to the delight of the sold-out arena. Sting's arms wrapped around Lee's waist as she turned to face the man beside her, which caused her smile to grow. He then proceeded to dip her low before planting a soft, but passionate kiss on her lips, which cause the crowd to go even more crazy- obviously supporting the relationship of the two champions. It lasted for about ten seconds before the two broke apart, linked hands, and walked towards the ring. After their usual in-ring introductions were shown, The Icon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her close at the sound of their opponent's music.

"And their opponent, from Hell's Kitchen, New York… Bully Ray!"

The member of Immortal came out to a chorus of jeers and boos, to which he simply threw aside, pointing a finger at the couple in the ring, insults spewing from the mouth. The female glared as always, while Sting's expression remained neutral. When he entered the ring and stood in the corner, flashing the chain on his hand at the two of them. Before either of them could react, the bell signaled to start the match.

Sting gently pushed Lee behind him, gesturing for her to step out of the ring. She nodded slowly, climbing through the second and third ropes to stand in the outside corner.

Every move that she watched go between the two wrestlers went by too quickly for her to comprehend the majority of the techniques. Clotheslines, DDT's, attempted submission moves… she just wanted to be tagged in and teach Bully Ray a lesson.

She soon had her chance.

The member of Immortal had managed to stun Sting with a blow to the stomach, to which he slipped the long, thick chain that he carried everywhere out from his pants pocket and proceeded to put him in a chokehold with it. Swiftly and efficiently, she jumped over the outside turnbuckle and attacked him with a powerful double kick to the face, which caused him to fall back and discard the chain.

"Get your slimy hands off my man, you filthy bastard!" she screamed, pointing a shaky finger at Bully Ray as she breathed heavily. Sting stood up and put his arm around Lee's shoulders, escorting her back out of the ring, but paused halfway and tagged her in.

The smirk on her face grew as she once more hopped up to the turnbuckle and planted a flying elbow drop to her opponent's chest. The crowd went nuts.

Then, she noticed the chain.

"Let's see how you like having your own weapon used against you," she muttered, grabbing the steel object and wrapping it around her hand. When Bully Ray had made it to his feet, she rushed forward and smacked him on the head with it. Once, twice, three times. "I'm not going down this time!"

For good measure, she punted him in the skull before going in for the pin.

"1…2…3!"

The bell rang for their victory. Lee, unlike normal, did not celebrate her victory. She simply stared at Bully Ray lying limp on the floor. One of the members of Immortal she had actually defeated. Though she didn't show it on the outside, however, she was cheering just as loud as the crowd on the inside.

"Here are your winners, the team of Sting and Lee Aiden!"

The Icon made his way into the ring and brought the Knockout's Champion into an embrace, gently stroking her hair to calm her down. Eventually, he felt her relax in his hold and wrap her arms around his back, burying her face in his chest.

"You did it." He whispered, smiling against her hair.

She managed a faint giggle. "Thanks."

But even though she had beaten Bully Ray, there were still eight members of Immortal to take down. And plus, there was her match with Winter two weeks from now.

She still had a lot of work ahead of her.

* * *

><p>"Oww, damn it." I muttered through gritted teeth as Rob cleaned up one of my wounds from the earlier match with a pad of rubbing alcohol. And god, did it hurt like a bitch. He chuckled slightly and patted my shoulder comfortingly, flashing me a sympathetic smile.<p>

"Hey, look at it this way- you're the first Knockout ever to beat up a member of Immortal. That takes serious balls, Lee."

I shrugged, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. "I guess…"

"You guess?" Rob stared at me. "You've gotta be more sure than that." To be funny, he reached out and tapped my nose, which earned a squeak out of me. "No knockout has even come close to what you did out there tonight. You proved to everyone that no one messes with you and goes away without a fight."

I sat there, absorbing his words. He was right, I was just denying it. I had accomplished a great feat. Though for the moment it was still sinking in, I knew I would come to realize it eventually.

I had beaten Bully Ray, a member of Immortal.

Rob chuckled as he saw my face change expressions before bandaging up the injuries and patting me on the back, to which I nearly jumped off the table to hug him. Laughing, he patted my shoulder and shooed me out the door.

I was eager for some rest the second I arrived back at my hotel room, but knew it would only last until the following morning. So the second I heard the knock on my door, I was fully prepared, dressed in a tank top and sweatpants and ready to train. I thought at first it was going to be Rob, Olivia and Shayne at my door, but I was met with a surprise as I stared two brothers in the face, both with smiles on their faces.

"Ready to train some more for Lockdown?" they asked simultaneously.

I nodded and flashed them a grin, following Jeff and Matt Hardy out the door.

* * *

><p>Ladders. The first thing that met Lee's eyes when she stepped into the training room. Typical of the Hardy brothers to assist her in this type of weapon. It was their specialty.<p>

"So… what exactly are you gonna teach me with ladders? How to fix a screw on the cage?" she chuckled at her own joke. Jeff ruffled her hair, giving her an identical grin.

"That, and a couple of other things." he replied, climbing into the ring with the brunette close behind. Matt eventually stepped in from the other side, holding a steel ladder in his hands and setting it down.

"So obviously, ladders are going to be harder to use than chairs," he started, to which Lee nodded. Much harder than chairs, she noted. She still had a bruise on her leg from training with Rob. "But as you know, we're masters at ladder matches, so that's what we're here to train you for."

The brunette gave the elder Hardy a nod of understanding before walking closer and touching the steel of the ladder. Jeff placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, what do you want to start off with first?"

Lee placed a tentative finger to her mouth, letting her gaze wander to the ceiling before speaking up. "Well… you know that one move you both do with the ladder sometimes? Where you bring it into the ring, then throw it at them before giving them a double dropkick?" A nod from the younger Hardy allowed her to continue, "I'd like to try that, at least. Maybe I could use that move at Lockdown to throw off Winter."

Jeff responded by slipping out of the ring and returning with a ladder- smaller than the ones normally used, but because it was for practice purposes. Matt moved out of the way so Jeff and the Knockout's Champion could square off with the ladder in the ring.

"Now," Jeff started, "you pick it up, obviously, then throw it to your opponent to throw them off, like you want to, and then you give 'em a drop kick to the chest. Or, you know, wherever the ladder might be when they're holding it."

Lee nodded as Jeff handed her the ladder, signaling for her to try. Only hesitating slightly, she tossed the ladder into the younger Hardy's outstretched arms before jumping up to deliver a quick dropkick to the rungs of the ladder. She saw him stumble, but regain his footing after a few seconds.

"Alright, that was good," Jeff spoke. "Now try it with Matt, and kick a little harder this time. Don't be afraid to kick us." He chuckled.

The other, older brother climbed into the ring, and Lee went through the same technique several more times, alternating between the two Hardy's. After about three hours, they allowed the training to end.

"Keep it up, Lee." Matt smiled at her. "If you're this good already, then Winter won't stand a chance at Lockdown."

She managed to give him an identical grin, but thought to herself, _I hope you're right, Matt. I __really__ hope you're right._


End file.
